Residents of Georgia urged not to judge the entire country based on individual incidents involving tourists.

The attack on a tourist from Minsk in Tbilisi should not become a reason for accusations against the entire Georgian people, as the actions of individual people cannot be blamed on the whole country, said residents of Georgia, commenting on this incident on social media. Other commentators condemned attempts to justify the attacker and blame the victim, stating that there is no justification for violence and the guilty must be punished.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 30, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia announced the detention of a man who hit a tourist from Minsk at the Tbilisi railway station. The girl suggested that the reason for the attack was the Russian language. The man explained the incident as a rude refusal to get acquainted. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that it is investigating the case of violence and did not specify the motive for the attack.

Social media users stated that it is unacceptable to justify the aggressor

A post about the attack in Tbilisi on a tourist from Minsk was published on the "Caucasian Knot" Facebook page on November 2. As of 15:00 Moscow time on November 4, this post had 889 comments. Some of the authors, who identified themselves as residents of Georgia, called for not labeling the entire country due to individual incidents.

"I am Georgian and I do not intend to be responsible for some [colorful expression]. Do not touch my nation. People are not responsible for individual [colorful expression] that exist in every nation," wrote Sali.

"How we now love to pounce on the entire nation because of some morons... It feels like the world has gone mad... There have always been such cases, there is no family without a freak... Why incite interethnic hostility? It’s like a trend on the internet for anti-tolerance," noted Inga Darchan.

"I am a citizen of Georgia, and my family is Georgian. No need to talk about countries, there are enough everywhere," wrote Svetlana Manakova.

Some commentators pointed out remarks in which participants of the discussion defended the man and blamed the tourist.

"No one is attacking the people, but some individuals, both female and male, for some reason defend him and think it’s necessary to thank him for not killing her," wrote Ludmila Minasyan.

"If they start justifying violence and blaming the victim, then they bear responsibility," believes Elisa Pilvinen.

"Elisa Pilvinen, let only those who justify violence bear responsibility, not all Georgians," Sali replied to her in another comment.

Other participants in the discussion considered violence against women to be an unworthy act. "To prison and for a long time. Real Georgians do not act like this... That is not a man," wrote Taisija Cecko.

"Is this a new Georgian tradition – to hit those who are weaker? Do not disgrace Georgia. There are idiots in all countries in roughly the same proportion," wrote Vasiliy Freze.

"There is no and cannot be any justification for any physical violence, especially from a man to a woman (unless there is a threat to life). There has never been such relationships in Tbilisi towards anyone. The aggressor must be punished strictly by law, and then the desire for physical violence among all potential male individuals towards such inappropriate actions will disappear," wrote user Thigi's Garden.

Georgian law enforcement showed impartiality in investigating conflicts with tourists

Against the backdrop of repeated conflicts between residents of Georgia and tourists, Georgian police took an impartial and professional stance, while local political forces tried to use these incidents for their own purposes.

Thus, according to a tourist from Minsk, Alexandra, in October she came to Tbilisi from Batumi with a friend. While her friend was calling a taxi at the railway station, a man approached them. Alexandra asked him to step back, and he slapped her on the cheek. According to the tourist, the police detained the man within minutes and took both girls to the station to take their statements. While they waited for the investigator, the officers calmed them down, said that such cases are rare, and brought them heart-shaped donuts. Alexandra said that she and her friend spent half a day at the station and several more hours in court.

On July 11, a march was held in Tbilisi in memory of Georgian volunteers who died in Ukraine. When the participants of the action reached the parliament building, a sightseeing electric car with tourists passed by them. According to Tabula, some female passengers showed offensive gestures to the demonstrators. Some participants of the march moved towards the car and began shouting insults at the women. The police quickly surrounded the electric car and separated the passengers from the demonstrators, thus preventing violence against the tourists. After that, the car with the tourists left the scene of the incident.

On July 18, a wedding was held at a hotel in the village of Ruispiri near Telavi. Five tourists who came to celebrate a friend's birthday were also staying at the same hotel. In a recording, published after the incident, one of the women can be seen waving from the window of the room, while below she is accused of pouring water on the equipment. Later, a wedding participant, Giorgi Chigladze, went up to the tourists. A verbal altercation occurred between him and one of the women. When she tried to push him out of the room, he hit her in the face.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia sided with Chigladze. Explaining what preceded the blow, the agency referred to witness statements, according to which the tourists insulted the wedding guests and splashed water on the sound equipment. The victim denied that her group provoked the participants of the celebration. In a recording from the hotel camera, which was released on August 4 by Chigladze's lawyer, it can be seen that liquid falls on two people on the veranda from above. It is impossible to determine from these frames who poured it. The court in Telavi later released Chigladze on bail.

Amid the fact that Georgian law enforcement behaved professionally, Georgian parties used the topic of tourists and relocants for political purposes. Thus, on August 25, representatives of the opposition "United National Movement" held a briefing at the Upper Lars checkpoint and accused the ruling "Georgian Dream" of creating conditions for the mass entry of tourists and relocants from Russia. A representative of the ruling party Levan Makashvili explained the flow across the border as the peak of the tourist season. According to him, from August 17 to 24, nearly 53 thousand people entered Georgia through this point, while 61.7 thousand left.

The topic of conflicts between residents of Georgia and tourists also became the subject of investigation by the country's State Security Service. In early August, the agency reported that it is investigating a case of sabotage in connection with publications about the allegedly unsafe situation for Russians. The SSS called false stories about tourists being abandoned in the woods or having their food intentionally spoiled in restaurants. According to the agency, these messages were spread from abroad to create the impression that Russians are in danger and to harm Georgia's interests, including economically. The investigation also stated its intention to identify the organizers of the campaign and the sources of its funding.